Author: Shauna Vugteveen

We grabbed groceries and fuel in Sandpoint and made our way to the Idaho BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route). The Idaho BDR consists of twisty mountain roads. The weather was sunny and clear and we just enjoyed meandering through the beautiful countryside.

We made our way to Wallace, which was a cool old town founded in 1884. From there, the road took us next to the St. Joe river and through many tunnels. The road here was not bad and could be traveled by any vehicle.

We continued on and the trail brought us up narrow winding mountain roads. We found a great little spot to camp and hung out for an extra day. We enjoyed the sunshine and were happy to be able to use our outdoor shower and just enjoy sitting still.

After relaxing  for a day, we continued on and crossed Grandad Bridge. The reservoir was huge and neat to see. We hit a road closed sign and decided we should find an alternate route.

We turned off on a logging road and ended up taking a few wrong turns. We finally came out by the main road but had to squeeze around a barrier. Thank goodness we could fit because going back wouldn’ve taken awhile.

We continued on what is called the Lolo Trail Corridor. In 1805, Lewis and Clark traveled this 120 mile leg through the Bitterroot Mountains. They followed the Lolo Trail, an ancient travel route of the Nez Perce Indians.

It is the site of many historic events and carries the memories of hundreds of years of American Indian use. It was humbling to read the informative signs on display and to be traveling through sacred lands.

The BDR would take us from Idaho into Lolo, Montana. We took advantage of being so close to Missoula and had ordered some Amazon things to a locker on the south end of Missoula. We picked up those packages and then headed back to Lolo to the Lolo Peak Brewing Company to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. It doesn’t feel like it’s been 25 years! I can still remember taking off on our 2 week honeymoon! We’ve always made sure to go away for our anniversary every year, no matter how busy life or work was at the time. We really had no idea this is where we would be 25 years later and we love it! It took a lot of hard work, dreaming, goal setting, and working together and we are so excited for the next 25 years!

We stayed at a campground just south of Lolo after our anniversary celebration and then headed south, still following the BDR. The next section on the BDR is also known at the Macgruder Corridor.

This is a trail Craig has known about for a long time and has been on our list of adventure routes to do. It wasn’t any different from the rest of the BDR except there was more burn areas. Idaho tends to have a lot of forest fires and it was evident as we traveled through these areas.

We came across a 4×4 only trail that would lead us to Burnt Knob Lookout. It looked rocky and steep so Craig was all about it. We slowly made our way up and were happy we took the time to make the trek. The views were awesome!

We continued on and as we were coming out of the mountains, it was harder to find a spot to camp. We found a small little pulloff and set up camp. We were completely set up, when Craig realized there was a tent set up back in the woods. And shortly after a truck pulled in.

We apologized for encroaching on his space but he had no problem at all with us being there. We said goodnight and went to bed. The next morning we formally met Doug. He is from Ohio and had just lost his dad this past summer. He had tears in his eyes as he explained that he was out here trying to figure out how to live life more free. His dad was an outdoorsman and he was out here just trying to figure things out. We shared our story, gave him a hug and wished him well in his journey.

The entire BDR was beautiful but when it brought us down by the Salmon River, we were so happy. This area is gorgeous and peaceful. We found a great little spot on the river and settled in. We walked the beach, yes there are beaches in Idaho, and enjoyed the scenery all around us.

I had done a little reading about others that had traveled the BDR and found an article about some dirt bike riders that had recently completed it. They highly recommended a stop in Yellowpine at The Corner Pub. Apparently the chef is originally from Portland, Oregon and makes some amazing dishes. We skipped breakfast because we were so excited to have an awesome lunch at The Corner.

Little did we know our day would go a little sideways. We drove endless narrow shelf roads for most of the day which really slowed us town. We were finally at Elk Summit Pass on our way down to Yellowpine when we came to a road closed sign. It was kinda podunk, it had rocks holding it up and it was written on cardboard with a marker. We really had no choice but to keep going forward. We were low on gas and didn’t think we could make it back to Warren. We continued down the mountain and ended up clearing 3 trees off the road.

The smoke was thick and the wind was crazy. When we were cutting out the last tree, we looked down and saw a white truck heading toward Yellowpine. We figured we would just follow them. We caught up to them and realized it was Fire personnel. They were getting out of the truck cutting away trees as well. They were a crew that had been called in to help with the fire and didn’t know much about the area. They didn’t think there was gas in Yellowpine but said we were safe to head that way.

We finally made it into Yellowpine and to the general store that had premium gas only at $9 a gallon. We needed it so there was nothing we could do. By this time it was around 5pm and we hadn’t eaten much so we headed to The Corner Pub. They don’t even offer menus, it’s just what the chef is making that day. We had the option for a brisket sandwich or tacos, carne asada tacos or a hamburger. I opted for the brisket tacos and Craig got the carne asada tacos. They were both so good!

It was fun laid back atmosphere and we ended up sitting at the bar with John. He works for a fish hatchery and invited us to see how he tags juvenile salmon to track. We didn’t get out there in time Saturday morning to see any fish but we did get to see the setup and he explained the process.

At this point, we were still on the BDR but would cut it short due to the smoke. We made our way to Wisdom, Montana and were happy to pay $20 to dry camp and have access to the best bathhouse we’ve been in yet.

On Sunday we made our way to Helena and met up with our friend Lance. Craig had hired Lance years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. He found his way out to Montana a couple years ago and recently got married. It was fun to catch up with him and learn a little bit more about the area.

We continued on and found a free campground for the night. We had a couple of days to kill as we wait for friends to fly into Bozeman this week. We ended up in Three Forks to do laundry and Craig got his hair trimmed. We went to Bridger Brewery for lunch and then Sawdust & Steel Brewing. We played a few games of bingo and were happy to both win! It was a fun night. There is not much for camping in this area so we ended up at a rest area for the night. Never our favorite but it works when we have no other options.

We went into Bozeman to do a few chores and then headed south out of town to find some dispersed camping. We found a nice little spot after a pretty drive.

Today we’ll be headed back into town while we wait for our friends to fly in! It’s going to be a great time and we’re excited to see faces from home.

Off to party with friends…

Once we got into Washington, we headed to the grocery store to replace the eggs the border patrol took from us. It was pretty early so we stopped in Blaine for a great breakfast at small place called Monte’s. Then we headed to see my good friend Stacy who lives in Birch Bay. Stacy was my roommate for 10 weeks at the National Forensic Academy back in 2009. We’ve only seen each other a handful of times since then but every time feels like we never miss a beat. She had to go to work after we arrived, but I was able to get laundry done and Craig did an oil change and tire rotation. We appreciate all our friends who have let us park in their driveways and use their facilities. It’s always a huge help for us and we can’t thank them enough.

We went to Beach Dog brewing and had dinner and beers Friday night with Stacy, her husband, Frank, and one of their daughters. It was so great to catch up with them and hope it won’t be another 4 years before we see them again.

After leaving Stacy’s house Saturday morning, we made our way to Bellingham and grabbed more groceries and were so happy to be able to get some things we couldn’t find in Canada. Then we headed to US 20 and headed east until we found a little place to boondock up a mountain road.

The drive along US 20 is beautiful and we were happy for a clear day. As the day went on, we noticed it getting overcast and then we were smelling smoke.

We were hoping to spend some time around the Diablo Lake area but found the campgrounds and iOverlander spots in that area were closed due to a fire on Ruby Mountain. We ended up staying at the Bridge Creek Trailhead- Pacific Crest Trail South hoping not to get kicked out.

We made our way to Mazama and stopped in at the Mazama Publc House for a beer. We sat at the rail and had a great time. The bartenders were chatty and there was a local couple next to us that gave us some great recommendations of things to do in the area. One was to drive up to Hart’s Pass.

We headed up to Hart’s pass which was a beautiful drive. This drive intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail. We met a very tired young man who asked if we were heading back into town that night. We told him we weren’t but asked how we could help. He said he had run out of food so we packed up some trail mix and gave him some protein bars. Hopefully he was able to catch a ride. We stayed at the parking area at the top and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

We headed back down the next morning and soon ran across another hiker looking for a ride into town. He had done a segment of the PCT over 5 days. I rode in the camper for the 18 miles back to Mazama. He was so thankful and we were so happy to help.

We stayed on US 20 and made our way to Idaho. We wanted to drive the Idaho BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route) which we could pick up in Sandpoint. I wanted to watch a basketball game so we headed down another forest service road. Because Starlink requires an unobstructed sky, we chose a nice open spot instead of a spot tucked into the woods. It was hot and sunny when we arrived.

Around 5, it suddenly got darker and the wind picked up. We heard thunder and lightening and then trees crackling and falling. It came in so fast! Craig got a short video before our camper door slammed shut and we could hear the dust & dirt hitting the side of the camper. It was over pretty quickly but that was probably the scariest winds we’ve been in although we never felt like we were in danger.

We heard a bike on the road and then it stopped. Shortly after, Peter, who was on the bike, was pushing his bike toward our camp. He was drenched and looked so tired. He had been able to get around a couple tress but his tires were going flat. Craig was able to pump us his tires and he tried to call his wife using our wifi without success. He took off and we hoped he would make it home safely. Soon after, 2 high school boys were walking up to our campsite. They were in a Toyota truck and were stuck between two downed trees, unable to get out.

They also used our wifi to call home to let their parents know they were safe. Craig got his chainsaw and got to work. In the meantime, Peter came back stating the road was completely blocked by trees. After giving them protein bars and water, all the boys took off to clear the road with just a battery powered chainsaw. I sat watching my game since I would be of no help.

They were gone longer than I liked but finally I saw truck lights and the boys had brought Craig back with Peter following. Craig had used up all the batteries he had for the chainsaw and there was nothing more he could do. There was a crew following behind the guys pulling trees off of the road because they had big trucks scheduled to be on that road in the morning. They had continued when the boys brought Craig back.

The boys and Peter took back off and we were hoping they would make it home safely. We texted them asking to let us know when they arrived home safely. We knew the boys would stick with Peter so when we got a text that they were home safely we were relieved. In the morning, Peter texted to let us know that a road crew had cleared the last of the road so that is how they were able to get out. They had lost power and cell service so that is why he was unable to get a hold of his wife or text us back that night. He also had lost his gloves, which we found and met up with him in town to return them. It was quite the event and we are thankful that everyone got home safely.

Off to the Idaho BDR…

 

We ended up having pretty great weather for most of our days on Vancouver Island. We headed to Palmerton Beach and Raft Cove and enjoyed these beaches more than the more popular San Josef beach. They were more rocky and rugged and just felt more secluded.

There was a short hike to get to Palmerton beach and it opened up to a rocky shoreline. The hike to Raft Cove was longer and very rugged. It brought us through what felt like a rainforest. There was a little more scrambling over trees and climbing around mud holes. It opened up to a huge beautiful beach.

Our last stop of the day was at Grants Bay. Another short hike to another beautiful beach. It was really windy and getting chilly so we took a few pictures and called it a day. We found an iOverlander spot that brought us up an old, very narrow logging road and we had an awesome view of the bay.

We headed to Winter Harbour and grabbed showers at the Outpost. It was raining again so we didn’t hang out long.

It looked to be a full day of rain so we went back to Holberg and grabbed lunch at The Scarlet Ibis, which is the most remote pub on Vancouver Island. Another further place reached!

We started to head to the middle of the island to see some viewpoints that a local had mentioned to us. We saw the Eternal Fountain, Devils Bath and the Vanishing River which all exist due to karst topography. Karst is a type of landscape where the dissolving of the bedrock has created sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, and springs.

We found a nice little spot on Kathleen Lake for the night. The next day, we drove up on some logging roads for great views.

We ended up on the other end of Kathleen Lake and found a fantastic spot. We decided to call it a day and just enjoyed the sunshine. The sunset was incredible that night!

Our next stop was to Little Huson Caves and this was by far our favorite stop. We did the short hike down to the caves and were in awe. This place is a hidden gem! We should’ve worn our suits and did a polar plunge because it was a perfect place for that.

On Tuesday, we made our way to Comox and Courtenay on the east side of the island to go to some breweries. Craig had picked out the ones he wanted to go to and there were too many to hit in one day.

Wednesday was Craig’s 55th birthday! We headed into Nanaimo and hit a bunch more breweries and had a fantastic lunch at the Rusted Rake. It was a great day celebrating!

On Thursday, we had reservations to get on the ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen at 5:45 pm so we had some time to kill. We had boondocked down another forest service road that was close to a trail with a suspension bridge. We checked out the bridge, went to two more breweries and then it was time to get in line for the ferry.

The ferry ride was pretty much like all the rest that we have done so far. The sunset was beautiful and we enjoyed the two hour ride. We got to Tsawwassen and decided to find a place to camp instead of trying to cross the border. We found a gravel parking lot at a tennis club. Kinda random but it worked.

Friday morning we got going pretty early and headed to the border. We decided to cross at Pacific instead of Peace Arch because we had read it would be less busy. There was no line and we thought we would sail through. They asked more questions here than on any other border crossing we had. We had to park to the side and go inside to see the Agriculture Police and declare everything we had. We racked our brains, hoping we didn’t forget anything because they would fine us if we didn’t list out everything. We handed the agent the keys and we were told to stay in the building. That was the first time we had ever had a search without us being present and we were not fans of that. She came back having just confiscated our eggs and said we were good to go. We had never had any issues crossing borders with eggs, but we were on our way.

It’s hard to believe our time in Alaska and Canada is over. We had waited for so long to get back to the further places and it felt like the summer went so fast. We enjoyed seeing and doing so many new things and reminiscing about places we had already been too. It was a fantastic summer!! We’re excited to explore some mountain  areas while the weather holds.

Off to explore in the lower 48…

 

We hung out on Trapper Mountain for the holiday weekend and just enjoyed the scenery. We went and checked out the public use cabin. It had a woodstove and tons of wood ready to warm up a cold hiker. Overnighting here is not allowed but you can tell it gets plenty of use.

We watched as others arrived and kayaked on the lake or buzzed around on their quads. Overall, it was pretty quiet considering it was Labor Day weekend.

On Monday morning, we continued on and took another side road that took us over the river a bunch of times and eventually ended. Then we were on our way to Telkwa Pass. The road was basically a forest service road and it followed a power line for quite a while.

It wasn’t a hard road but was rough in spots and had us driving up and down some good inclines. We crossed many small water crossings and we were in awe of the glaciers above where the water was coming from. The trail was in pretty good condition even in these spots where it is obvious water is constantly going over the trail.

We were almost to the first lake when it got really tight and we were scraping both side mirrors against small brush. It looked like someone had been through recently to trim back the larger branches which was so nice. The smaller ones  just brushed our truck lightly but still left some new pinstripes.

We finally pulled into the beach spot that everyone talked about when we researched this trail. We were happy to see that nobody was there and we settled in. It was a little windy and chilly so we took a few pics and started to make dinner.

With a place so beautiful, it really didn’t surprise us that we didn’t have it to ourselves the whole time but it was kinda late when a Jeep and a side by side arrived and didn’t really try to park too far away from us. They unloaded their coolers and chairs and it appeared that they were going to be there a while. We were busy making dinner and it was cold out there so we did our thing while they did theirs. They finally left and then the place was ours and we were able to enjoy the beauty all around us.

We continued on the next day into the even tighter trail that was filled with water. Once again, we were thankful that the larger branches had been trimmed back but the truck still took a beating.

We finally emerged from the brush and climbed up and out of the valley and continued on. There was some decent climbs and descents but all in all, it was an easy trail.

We were told not to miss going up Microwave Tower trail. So we headed that way and climbed up a mountain once again. We got to the public use cabin which was actually really nice and had a stellar view.

 

We continued on because we could. We followed a rutted, bumpy trail that seemed to go forever, until it didn’t. The mountains along this entire trail were breathtaking! We got to the end of the trail a couple times and finally found our spot for the night with the mountains in sight.

We headed out the next day and made our way into Telkwa and got gas. We drove a few more hours and stopped just shy of Prince George.  We camped on a forest service road with a dead end. We woke to warm sunshine and were happy to be able to use our outdoor shower. We drove to Prince George in the morning and did laundry and got groceries. It was awesome to finally have a Costco and some other bigger stores to get some of our favorite things. It was getting late in the day, so we grabbed a quick lunch and then continued on our way. Our original plan was to head to Williams Lake and stay at a recreation area just south. As we drove on 97 south, we were both getting sick of the traffic and I found a side road that was a touch longer but would get us to where we wanted to go.

This was such a neat detour. It brought us through some really beautiful farmland next to the Fraser River. We always enjoy getting off the main roads and exploring the countryside. We drove through beautiful farms with cows hanging out on the side of the road and saw old barns barely standing. We got to the recreation area just before dark and found that all the lake side spots were occupied. We found a place in the middle to park and called it a night.

Friday we continued south on 20 toward Bella Coola. Most of this drive was uneventful. We finally got to the mountains and started down the steep, narrow shelf road.

We came across a bear cub just laying on the side of the road. He didn’t move as we got closer to him, so we thought he was hurt. But then he sat up, looked up the road and lumbered away as we got closer.

He was looking at mom who was in the middle of the road just up a bit. She didn’t give us much attention and started walking toward her cub. My window was open to take pictures and I was a little nervous because of how close we were to her.

We made it to another free recreation area and set up camp. It was on the river but we didn’t have river views because of the trees. It worked for the night and we had the place to ourselves.

Saturday we made our way to Blush Road which would take us to Odegaard Falls. We did the short hike which still didn’t bring us anywhere close to the falls, but it was a fun hike through the woods and the falls were amazing to see even from afar!

We continued up the road to Purgatory Lookout which was an amazing spot overlooking Purgatory Glacier. It felt like there were 10 different glaciers in view! You can camp out at the lookout and it had 2 actual fire rings for 2 campsites.

We set up camp just as a SUV pulled up. We chatted with a nice couple from California for a couple of hours before they had to make their way back to their campground. It was windy and cold so we hunkered down in the camper with the views of the glacier out our back door.

About 8:30-9pm, a truck and a dirt biker showed up. Four people got out of the truck with a dog, took in the sights, and then left. We were hoping that would be it. Apparently they had to have a pow wow about their options and decided they didn’t care if they encroached on a campsite that we were at first. They came back, with another truck and another dirt biker. They parked right next to us and there were about 8-10 people milling around us. They then started setting up tents in front of our truck and behind their vehicles which were now blocking the walkway to the bathroom. They also were not quiet about this whole process. We don’t camp like this. If we had arrived and someone was already in the awesome spot, we would’ve left them alone and said, dang! Cool spot! Wish we had gotten there first. They absolutely had every right to stay but it just stinks when there is no respect or courtesy to others. So we did a quick packing away of loose things and left with the top of our camper still up now looking in the dark for somewhere else to camp for the night. We ended up on just a shallow pulloff but it worked.

We made our way into Bella Coola and parked at a pulloff next to a river so I could watch the Indiana Fever women’s basketball game. After they won, we drove through Bella Coola which didn’t take long. There is not much here. It’s a small little community tucked into the mountains. We headed toward an iOverlander spot on a forest service road. The road continued up into the mountains so we kept driving. It started to rain like crazy and we were driving through clouds and could see nothing. We finally had to make the decision to just turn around. We camped just 3 miles from the main road because we had to get up bright and early to try to catch a ferry.

We got up at 4:45am and made our way to the ferry terminal. When I had made our reservation, there were no spots immediately available and we were waitlisted. The email said to arrive 120 minutes before sailing. We arrived and there was no activity at all at the terminal. It was so weird until we saw the sign that said we had to go to the Co-Op in town. We drove back into town where we found the lines of cars waiting for the ferry. A nice gentleman told us the boat was not full and there would be no problem getting us on the ferry. We didn’t wait long and then we were all driving back to the ferry terminal.

The ferry ride was pretty uneventful. It was supposed to be a 10 hour ferry ride, 7:30am-5:30 pm. We had a pretty good breakfast and lunch in the small cafe on board. We meadered around the boat and settled in. The captain announced when he saw whales and the whole boat went outside to see them. It was nice that the boat wasn’t very full so everyone could have some space. I stretched out over a few seats and took a nap while Craig read. We grabbed a couple beers toward the end of the trip and were happy to hear we arrived in Port Hardy almost an hour ahead of schedule.

In Port Hardy, we got groceries, gas and water and headed to another free recreation site for the night. There are so many of these in B.C., it’s pretty awesome. We are on the north end of Vancouver Island and there are forest service roads everywhere. We have no plans or things we have to see so we just started driving.

We made our way to the small town of Holberg and stopped at the gas station/convenience store. The owner was so nice and we had a great chat with him. He recommended that we go to Cape Scott which we were heading to anyway, but also told about a couple other rustic beaches that we should visit. We made our way to Cape Scott and hiked the 3 mile round trip trail out to their award winning beach.

We are so spoiled in Michigan with our white sandy beaches. We’re glad we went but we’ll never stop bragging about our awesome West Michigan beaches!

We were on our way to the next beach but instead of turning off, we continued up the road into the mountains. I had another WNBA game I wanted to watch so we explored to the end of the road and found a nice quiet spot to settle in for the night. The weather has been overcast with a little bit of rain and it looks like that’s what we’ll have for the next few days. We’ll continue to explore as we make our way south.

Exploring Vancouver Island…

We left our little boondock spot on the Watson River and made a quick stop at the Carcross Desert which is the smallest desert in the world.

We then made our way to Atlin Road and headed south. We checked out a campground on Snafu Lake but it was packed and not what we were looking for. We followed a Forest Service Road on the road leading to the campground and were happy to find a little boondock spot with a nice view. We decided to hang out there for the rest of weekend.

The tires needed to be rotated and there were 3 WNBA games on Sunday that I was excited to watch. We had beautiful weather and even had a campfire Sunday night.

Monday we headed into Atlin which is a small isolated community in the NW corner of British Columbia. The drive down was beautiful! Atlin Lake is a glacial-fed lake and is the largest natural lake in BC at 4 miles wide and 85 miles long. The generally accepted source of the Yukon River is the Llewellyn Glacier at the southern end of Atlin Lake.

Atlin’s current population is approximately 400 full-time residents. During the Klondyke Gold Rush of 1898, the population was 10,000! Many buildings from that era still remain. We drove around this quaint little town and then continued south.

Craig always looks for roads that lead to further places and he saw on satellite views that the road continued quite a ways south of Atlin. We got to the “Road Not Maintained” sign and we kept going on O’Donnel River Road. It was basically a rough two track through the woods with a few creek crossings.

It finally opened up to a beautiful valley with views of the mountains. We passed some old mining equipment and continued on. The trail eventually got really narrow and a little muddy. We almost made it to the O’Donnel River but decided to turn around when the trail became really rocky and off-camber. Craig walked the rest of the way to the river and didn’t think we had a good chance of getting across the river. There were no trees around on either side to winch out if we needed so we decided it was time to head back. Rain was supposed to be coming so we got out of the valley and found a spot to camp for the night.

The next morning we made our way back to Atlin. We were at the last creek crossing when we saw a family of 4 sitting on their hiking packs on the opposite side. We gave a wave and and were flagged down by Bart. Bart, his wife and two adult kids had been hiking and camping for the past 10 days but he had developed a toe infection and was in pain. Their car was parked at a recreation area 7 miles away. As we talked out what to do, we decided we would make it work. We fit their 4 packs and 4 of us in the camper. If you don’t know what a pack looks like when you are planning for a 10 day trip, they are very large. Craig and Bart were in the truck and Craig did his best not to go too fast along the bumpy road. It was a little rough at times but we were so happy to be able to help this sweet family out and enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them.

It continues to amaze us how we are so fortunate to cross paths with amazing people. Bart and his wife are originally from the Netherlands but now live in Atlin. He was a soldier and adventurer and after his military service ended, he returned to the wilderness of Canada. He has traveled thousands of kilometers on foot with just his backpack. He organized trainings to teach others the skills needed to travel and survive in remote areas.  He and his family love to get out on foot and explore together.

They told us about moose and caribou walking through their camp and picking a hat full of berries. The kids were here on holiday and would be heading back to the Netherlands soon to go to University. We got back to their car and exchanged information and hugs before it started to rain! What timing! We are so thankful to be in the right place at the right time.

We headed back north and since it was still raining, we decided to stay at our nice little boondock spot again.

We made our way to Watson Lake and took showers at the recreation center, did laundry, grabbed groceries and went to a gravel lot boondock spot just north of town. It wasn’t a pretty spot but it was quiet and it worked for the night.

The next morning, we headed back into town. We had placed our sign at the Sign Post Forest in 2018 but didn’t really document where we had put it. As of 2022, there are over a 100,000 signs!

This is such a cool sight to see and it was fun wandering around seeing all the places people have visited from. We had known about this place from Craig’s Aunt Karen. She and Uncle Eugene had put their sign up in 1995 so we were ready with a sign in 2018. It is quite obvious that some people were not prepared. It was funny to see baking pans, tops to sterilite containers, and cutting boards marked with a sharpie marker hanging from the wooden posts and trees. Aunt Karen said theirs was a piece of wood from the visitor center and red nail polish! Most are wood signs or a license plate but the creativity of all the signs was pretty cool.

Craig found our sign and we added our sticker. We looked around and even called Aunt Karen to see if she remembered the general area of their sign and we just couldn’t find it. Heck we couldn’t remember where ours was 6 years later but we tried really hard to find theirs. We enjoyed our time there but had to leave as the rain started.

And then we were heading south on the beautiful Stewart-Cassiar Highway which is a scenic route through some the most isolated areas in B.C. We had another day of rain so we stopped early after finding a great little spot on Simmons Lake.

Our next stop was in Dease Lake for fuel and snacks before heading to Telegraph Creek. Craig had heard good things about this drive and we were excited to get to another further place. The 70 miles of gravel road from Dease Lake to Telegraph Creek follows the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. Following a First Nations’ trading route and path of early gold prospectors, the road winds along Stikine Canyon with dramatic views of the sheer walls cut by the river through layers of volcanic lava.

We hadn’t traveled far when we met a truck pulling a small camper that flashed their lights at us. Their truck and front of their camper was completely covered in thick mud. The man said that they had gone down a slick muddy hill and then learned that there were 20% grades on the road ahead. They had turned around and decided it wasn’t worth it and they barely made it back up the muddy hill. He just wanted to warn us so we thanked them for the heads up and continued on our way. We got to the slick muddy section and just took it slow. We could see how pulling a trailer might be difficult but that was the worst section of the road. The rest of the road was in great condition and the 20% grades went just fine for us. The views as we got closer to Telegraph Creek were amazing.

The Stikine River flows west and south for 379 miles and empties into various straights of the Inside Passage near Wrangell, Alaska. It is known as the fastest flowing navigable river in North America. It’s called the K2 of white-water challenges and has only been run by a handful of expert kayakers.

We made our way to the small town of Telegraph Creek and just did a drive through as it was getting late in the day and we needed to find a spot to camp. We continued toward a boondock spot on the river closer to Glenora. The spot was just a boat ramp on the Stikine River but we were able to tuck ourselves out of the way and enjoy the views.

Craig had studied the map and saw that a road continued south so we had to drive it of course. It was a two-track that was in pretty decent condition that climbed up and down and through creeks and mud holes.

We were hoping it would end at a beautiful campsite on the river, but it didn’t. It brought us through the woods and we occasionally got a peek of the mountains.

We passed through what appeared to be an abandoned mining operation. We aren’t really sure but there were pallets of samples of rock dating back to 2001. You could tell the now defunct buildings were once a kitchen, a green house, outhouses and bases probably for tents. It was interesting and we wondered why all this stuff was just left out there.

We continued on and the road eventually ended at a gate with a sign stating it was an active mine. We were bummed but it was still a fun drive.

We headed back and decided to continue back north to a rest area we had passed on the way in that had awesome views.

We continued back toward Dease Lake and were happy that the road was still in great condition and the slick muddy section was now dry. Our truck was still a muddy mess so we headed to the spray wash to get all the gunk off.

Our truck had started to make some growling noises that were concerning us. We were hoping that it was just the mud in all the crevices but even after the spray wash the noises continued and seemed to get louder. We ended up with more rain so we stopped at a rest area by a lake to camp for the night. As we pulled in, we both recognized it as the same spot we camped when we were here with Gus in 2018.

Craig made a few phone calls and the only mechanic that was kind of on our route that was willing to take a look at the truck was in Prince Rupert. We got up Monday morning and headed 2 km north to get gas before heading back south. We pulled out of the gas station parking lot and were almost back to the rest area that we had slept at and the truck was clanking and scraping and making awful noises. We could see the rest area in view but Craig had to put on the 4 ways and we limped it to the parking lot.

He took off the front passenger tire and could see that the caliper was wonky and rubbing the rotor. He pulled the caliper off and tied up the brake line hoping that was the issue but after driving just a few feet it was obvious it was not the problem. That’s when he knew it was probably a front wheel bearing. We called every mechanic within 200 miles. Many were short staffed or were booking out until mid September. Wild Country Truck & Auto in Two Mile admitted he was extremely busy but said if we could get the truck there he would fit us in.

The next chore was finding a tow truck. I think we called about 6 tow companies and they were either also short staffed or did not have a truck large enough to transport our truck. Thankfully, we got a hold of Paul at Northern Lights in Kitwanga, B.C. He was willing to come out the next morning and his truck had a bench seat so we could all fit.

We hung out in the parking lot and soon a truck and trailer pulled in and parked in the lot. Craig ended up talking to the guy and they had just pulled in to use the bathroom when he noticed he had a flat tire and a broken spring. Thankfully, he had a replacement spring with him. He had some tools but Craig was able to help him replace the spring and plug the hole in his tire. They felt bad that we were stranded but there wasn’t much they could do. He offered Craig money but our motto is always to just pay it forward. They were thankful for Craig’s help and were on their way in the morning.

Tuesday morning, Paul arrived around 10 am. He got the truck all secured and we were off on our 3 hour drive to Wild Country Auto. It was a really clear day so the views were great and Paul was fun to talk to. The ride was not the comfiest of rides but we survived.

We were so happy when we pulled into Wild Country. The owner was so laid back and kind. He had no issues with us camping in the lot until he could get to our truck. He even had a bathroom that he left open for us to use.

After the long uncomfortable ride, we were ready for a walk. We walked into Hazelton for dinner and back which ended up being a 6 mile round trip walk.

Our night in the lot was uneventful but we were ready for showers and some creature comforts. Our parts wouldn’t be in until Wednesday afternoon and the truck would be fixed Thursday if all went well. So we walked 2 miles the other direction to New Hazleton and got a hotel room for the night. It wasn’t fancy but it was clean and comfy. We grabbed some food and beers to go and watched movies and basketball.

We walked back to the shop at noon on Thursday and were disappointed to see our truck had not been worked on. The mechanic was a super nice guy and it was obvious that he is well liked in the community as people stopped in throughout the day to chat with him. He finally got the front passenger side torn apart and realized that the seal was damaged too.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t ordered a replacement just in case. He ended up sending his father-in-law to get a new one for us so he could get us back on the road that day. The repairs got done and we were back on the road at 9 pm Thursday night. We were ready to put some miles on so we were good to drive a little bit. We found a boondocking spot in the woods just north of Terrace and called it a night.

We woke up to rain and headed into Terrace for water, groceries and gas.  We grabbed a quick lunch at a wings place and stopped at Sherwood Mountain Brewing for a quick flight of beer. We were there right when it opened and the brewer needed to get rid of some short pour beers. He gave us a free six pack and a 20 oz bottle of beer!

And finally, we were ready to get on with our next adventure. We are going to drive the Telkwa Pass Trail which goes from Terrace to Telkwa. Apparently not a lot of full size vehicles drive it but we did a little research and think we’ll be just fine.

We ended up taking a side road up to Trapper Mountain cabin, which appears to be a public use cabin. It is surrounded by lakes and is so beautiful up here. When we arrived it was really overcast and felt like we were camping in the clouds.

We had a nice quiet night and decided to hang out here for the weekend. Hopefully the rest of the trail won’t be too busy when we leave on Monday to complete it.

Off to Telkwa Pass…

We left our quiet little spot on Gravel Lake and continued on Yukon 2 to Carmacks and then got on the Robert Campbell Highway towards Ross River. The boondocking spots consisted of big gravel lots with no views so we opted for Drury Creek Campground on Little Salmon Lake. We continue to use the provincial parks because they are so inexpensive and so nice. This one had potable water, recycling, garbage cans and free wood.

We continued on and took a quick side trip up to Faro. Faro is a small little town with not much to offer. It was a gorgeous day so we did a quick hike to Odegaard Falls.

After that, we decided to enjoy the afternoon by the river and stayed at another great campground on the Lapie River.

The next day we headed up to Ross River. We fueled up and were ready to tackle the North Canol Road. Canol Road was part of the Canol Project that was built to construct a pipeline from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, to Whitehorse, Yukon, during WWII. It was built to ensure a supply of oil for defense of Alaska and the North American west coast. It was completed in two years at great cost and was abandoned less than a year later. The pipeline no longer exists, but the 279 mile long Yukon portion of the road is maintained by the Yukon Government during the summer.

The Canol Project was abandoned in 1946-1947. The southernmost 150 miles was reopened in 1958 to connect Ross River, Yukon with the Alaska Highway.The 130 miles from Ross River to the NWT border was reopened in 1972.

There is a short ferry crossing over the Pelly River and then we were on our way. The road would soon be a terrible pot-holed rough ride. We averaged about 30 kph the entire trip. There were times when the road was narrow, wet and muddy. We crossed a couple bridges and were surprised when we came up behind 2 semis. One was carrying what looked to be a metal office building, the other had retaining wall blocks. They got over when they could to let us pass but we were shocked at how fast they were running with the large loads they had.

You can drive all the way to the Northwest Territory border but after that the road becomes almost impassable due to bridges being out. We did not think we had the fuel capacity to get that far. We decided to drive as far as the Army truck graveyard before turning back. It was fun walking around this now protected area checking out all the cool old trucks. The views from here were pretty spectacular and it was a beautiful night! We drove back about 30 km and found a little spot to camp.

The next day we made the long trek back. We made a little better time but were a little nervous about our fuel. We were carrying 10 gallons in our jerry cans but we had not been getting great fuel mileage. Craig waited for the low fuel light to come on and we decided to just wait it out. We kept driving and the truck beeped at us about 15 times. We had always thought we had a 38 gallon tank but we didn’t really know. We made it to the ferry and back to the gas station without having to use our reserve fuel. We made it an additional 45 miles after our low fuel light went on. He put 37 gallons into our 38 gallon tank! It’s good to know but we won’t make that a habit.

We continued on South Canol Road which stretches 143 miles from Ross River to Johnsons Crossing. Right away it was more scenic than the north and we were happy to find an awesome boondock spot right on the Lapie River.

South Canol follows ridges and provides awesome scenic views. The road was in better condition than North Canol although it still had some huge pot-holes.

We finished the road and were happy to pull into Johnsons Crossing Lodge. We paid $25 CAD for a dry campsite. This was a decent little place and they had a lot to offer. We took hot showers, did laundry and filled up on water. We didn’t buy anything from the cafe or store but apparently they are known for their cinnamon rolls.

We headed into Whitehorse the next day. We weren’t going to go into town but decided we could use some supplies. We had picked up a few things from the store in Faro but they didn’t have everything we needed. We stocked up on groceries and had a beer and lunch at Woodcutter’s Blanket – Bar & Brewery. On our way out of town, we stopped in at Winterlong Brewing. We have been drinking their beer a lot since being in Yukon and it was cool to go to the brewery and try some of the other beers they have.

We continued south on the Klondike Highway and found an uneventful spot to camp for the night. The next day we stopped in to check out the small town of Carcross. This is where the White Pass Scenic railroad trip from Skagway ends. We arrived right as they were dropping off a trainload of people. We ducked into the Historic Caribou hotel for a beer to wait out the crowds. The bartender gave us a little history of the hotel and the area. It’s a neat little town and we  were glad we took the time to check it out.

The drive from Carcross to Skagway was absolutely gorgeous! One of our favorite scenic drives yet. We were so happy to have a sunny clear day for this drive.

We had to wait a few minutes at the border crossing and the Agriculture police took our green pepper. Everything else we had was just fine so it was kind of weird. I think they play veggie bingo and he needed a pepper to complete it! Our friend, Paulo, who crossed after we did, told us that they took his US grown tomatoes but not his pepper. Theory confirmed! Ha! Ha!

We drove into Skagway and found it to be a cute charming place. We didn’t stay long because we knew we’d be back another day to devote to exploring town. We headed up toward Dyea and found a great spot to boondock right on the Taiya River. It rained off and on all day Sunday so we just hung out in camp.

We headed into town on Monday and were met with sunshine! We thought were were going to have 4 days of rain while in Skagway but it cleared up and we had a great time. We had a yummy drink at Skagway Spirits and excellent beers at Skagway Brewing. We meandered in and out of the stores and found a couple souveniers. We had to have lunch at the famous Red Onion Saloon. It was built in 1887 during the height of the Gold Rush and operated as one of the finest Bordellos in town. The staff were fun and friendly and the pizza was awesome!

We headed back out to the Taiya River outside of Dyea and found what we think was a better boondock spot. This spot was down river from where they launched rafts for tours and we waved as they floated on by. More rain was on the way so we hunkered down in camp for a day. Our friend, Paulo, joined us for the night and we sat under the awning catching up on our adventures as it rained.

Wednesday we headed back into town and hiked Lower Dewey Trail. It was a great hike and had cool views of town from above. The lake was beautiful and it was a great day to walk around it.

After our hike, we took showers at the Harbour Master then made our way to historic Dyea before heading back to our campsite. You can drive out to the Dyea Flats, which is a tidal plain and the site of long docks and crowds of ships disembarking gold-seekers back in 1898. We walked around the ghost town that is all but reclaimed by the forest and then made our way back to camp and hung out with Paulo again.

Thursday we were packing up when a man walked up and asked if we needed to leave soon. He said a helicopter would be coming to pick up supplies from the gravel lot behind us and they didn’t want us leaving while that was happening. We told him we would stay so we could watch. It was pretty cool to see the helicoptor with a long line arrive, hook up the supplies and take off to deliver them somewhere on the Chilkoot trail that has been impassable since 2022 due to flooding.

After that we headed back into town to grab supplies and fuel up. We met Paulo at Skagway Brewing and had lunch, beers and chatted with a couple gentleman from Iowa/Arizona that were on a cruise. It was a great time and a fun way to spend our last day. We really enjoyed our time in Skagway and would recommend visiting the small town if you get a chance.

We had checked out a nice little place to boondock on our way down to Skagway so we headed to that spot and were happy to see it was still unoccupied. We had a gorgeous view overlooking the Watson River.

We took a nice little hike down to the river and then along the now defunct railroad tracks. We were happy with another day of sunshine! We are slowly moving south and have a few side trips planned.

Off to Atlin…

 

We were really excited to be starting up the Dempster Highway again. We didn’t have the nervous excitment like we had when we drove it for the first time six years ago, not knowing what to expect and only going on advice from people online. But the fact that we were able to get back up here to drive it for a second time was fun for us and we were ready for another adventure.

The Dempster Highway, also known as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories 8, connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Year-round road access from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk opened in November 2017 with the completion of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. This became the first all-weather road route connecting the Canadian road network with the Arctic Ocean.

We stayed at a very uneventful spot on the Dempster Highway just 20 miles north. We had gotten our chores done in town and decided to head up late in the day since there are a ton of places to camp.

Monday we made a quick stop at the Tombstone Interpretive Centre and then headed on our way. It was really cool to see all the different rigs traveling this road.  We saw everything from cars, trucks and semis to huge overlanding rigs, trucks pulling triple axle trailers and motorhomes with toads. Six years ago it was the normal local traffic and trucks with truck campers. It is definitely more popular and well traveled today.

It started raining pretty quickly and the truck would be muddy for the rest of the trip. The road was not really that bad although we did slow down significantly through a section that was wet and squishy. We passed a couple of graders a few different times. It was so nice that they were working hard to keep the road in good condition. As tourists, we are very aware that this road is important for the local people and is not just for our adventures. Many semi trucks and work trucks use this road and we were always sure to get out of their way so they didn’t have to worry about getting over for us.

We had let a semi pass us and then came upon him on the side of the road pulling a biker with a tow strap. There were 4 guys on motorcyles and one had gotten over a bit too far. The sides of the highway are extremely soft and pretty dangerous if you get over too far and one of them went down on his side in the soft shoulder. We pulled up behind and Craig got out to offer some help. Thankfully, they already had the biker out and upright and everyone had a good chuckle and we found out they were staying at Eagle Plains.

We decided we would stay there too. We sat at the bar and were happy to see our biker friend come in and chatted with him for a bit. We found a spot to camp and listened to it pour! But hot showers in the morning were awesome! We got gas here in the morning. It was the most expensive gas on this trip at $6.79 a gallon USD.

We continued on, enjoying the beautiful changing scenery. Sometimes we remembered sections of it, some of it we didn’t. We drove through more rain, sunshine and then it was raining while the sun shined. It was pretty wild and beautiful. We got to the Arctic Circle and were happy to have it to ourselves. We took the obligitory pictures and put a sticker on the post along with many others. We didn’t have stickers in 2018 so it’s been fun leaving some behind.

The section of the road north of the Arctic Circle is known to have black shale like gravel and if you go too fast and/or don’t air down, you will get a flat. We had already aired down and we were in no hurry. So this section went just fine and we ended up completing the entire trip witout a flat!

There are two ferry crossings on the Dempster, one at the Peel River and one at the MacKenzie River. We timed both pretty well and didn’t have to wait long at all. They are short ferries anyway but it’s always nice to drive right on. We had to get gas in Fort McPherson and we wanted to go to the Tent & Canvas store in town.

We arrived after hours so we camped at a free campground right in town. It’s nice they offer these spots although it’s not exactly our cup of tea. The neighbors are close and the porta-potties were not in great condition. But it worked for a night. We fueled up in the morning and grabbed a cute canvas bag from the store.

We made our way to Inuvik, which is the only major town up here. We grabbed some supplies and gas and decided to continue north. There were a couple of boondocking spots on iOverlander that we checked out but it wasn’t super late and the one closest to town was the locals snow machine parking lot. We could’ve stayed there but decided to push on and got to Tuktoyaktuk before the Visitor Center closed.

We paid $63 CAD for 2 nights of dry camping on the Artic Ocean. We figured why not pour into this community and spend a little cash. You definitely pay for the view. The camp sites are close together, the porta-johns weren’t in the greatest condition and people really just park wherever they want but it was still totally worth it and we would do it again.

When we drove it in 2018, we had no idea what to expect and the Inuvialuit hamlet didn’t know what to do with all of the tourists that descended upon their small town. Back then, we all camped out for free on the day use peninsula. The locals would come down and say hi and some would walk around selling their crafts. We had talked with a local and he said that they were definitely not ready for the amount of visitors that had already been there.

Fast forward six years and they have designated camp spots along the Arctic Ocean for $31.50 CAD for dry camping, $63 CAD with power. The tip of the peninsula is now blocked off so everyone can still enjoy the day use area. At the visitor’s center they offered a pamphlet that had a map of the town and showed where you can buy souveniers, hike to the pingos and places to grab food.

Our timing has been a little off with the weather. We tried to avoid rain on the way up, we didn’t. We thought the temps would be pleasant but it was chilly. It had been in the 80s the week before we arrived but it was 47 degrees on Wednesday. Thankfully it wasn’t raining so we were able to walk all around town and even had a little sunshine. We walked to the point and I just put my hand in the water this time. I had dunked my toe in with Gus in 2018 and just didn’t feel the need to do it again.

Unfortunately, the souvenier shop was closed and the other stores that were listed as having souveniers didn’t have much. We made our way to the RCMP office where I bought a sweatshirt and chatted with the officer about life up in Tuk. She had studied forensics in University and had been stationed in Tuk for 6 months. She said they pretty much hold down the fort unless something major happens.

We hung out in the camper after doing all the things in town we wanted to do. We opted not to sit outside because the mosquitos were still pretty ferocious and we had a great view from our comfy chairs. Around 9 pm the sky cleared and it was bright and sunny and was almost getting warm as the sun came into our camper.

We decided we wanted to stay up for sunset. We were here on Summer Solstice in 2018 when the sun never set. But now, more than a month after Solstice it was going to set at 1:20 am. We have found if we leave the camper windows uncovered and let the light in, we don’t get tired. It’s a little crazy because sometimes we are just drinking a beer and reading or on our phones and all of a sudden it’s super late. It’s been kind of cool to just listen to your body and go to bed when you need to go to bed, not because of the time on the clock.

We took photos for a couple hours as the sun slowly set and it was cool to see others out and about enjoying this absolutely beautiful view. Honestly, we said it looked like a sunset over Lake Michigan, but just to know we were watching a sunset over the Arctic Ocean just gave us all the feels.

We were ready to hit the road on Thursday. On our way out of town, we took a picture by the Arctic Ocean sign and put our sticker on the back of that sign as well. It’s pretty cool to see all the stickers. So many people have ventured up here for this amazing adventure!

 

We were so glad to the see that the souvenier shop was open and enjoyed talking with the owner. He runs his store on consignment and everything in the store was made by a Tuk local. This was exactly the store we wanted to find. Craig had wanted an ulu knife since the last time we were up here but we never connected with anyone making them.

He found an ulu with a caribou handle and steel blade. The shop owner said this artist’s ulus sell really fast so we considered ourselves lucky to get our hands on one.

So with that, our time in Tuktoyaktuk was done. We enjoyed this experience so much. Our first time up was obviously different but this time it was neat to see that tourists come in and seem to add to the community instead of take away from it. We enjoyed the views and our laid back time there.

We started the long trek south. We were feeling pretty good and decided to drive a little longer. We made a quick stop in Inuvik for gas, did the Peel River ferry crossing, got gas in Fort McPherson and also did the MacKenzie river crossing. We found a spot to boondock off the road and called it a night.

The rest of the trip back was pretty uneventful. Our weather app said there was like a 4% chance of rain, well of course we got rained on! We had to stop again at Eagle Plains for expensive gas. Our truck was a disaster!

We decided to stop short of the end after another long day. We tucked into a decent spot next to a small creek.

The next morning was actually sunny and we were excited to get back into Dawson City. We were 20 miles from the end of the Dempster when we passed a work truck that chucked a rock into the lower passenger side windshield. UGH!!! It hit really low and there are only 2 smalls cracks starting but we were so mad! We went 1100 miles with no flats or other issues. We were so close! Oh well, we’ll deal with that another day.

We drove straight to the car wash and only spent $12 CAD. I thought it was going to be way more expensive than that considering how much mud we collected. We filled up on water and then headed to the public pool where we paid $6.50 CAD each for a pass for use of the hot showers.

It was a beautiful sunny day so we wandered around town and grabbed a few more souveniers. We had lunch at Sourdough Joe’s and grabbed an ice cream cone. We passed a small flea market and chatted with a local who was selling items out of her 1964 Mercury schoolbus! I had my hands full with my ice cream cone and the little purse I wanted to buy so I didn’t get a picture but it was a pretty cool. It was a fun day!

We are going to head south and east. Craig has a few fun roads in mind for us to go check out but we don’t really know what to expect. We drove about 60 miles east of Dawson City and found a beautiful spot on Gravel Lake

When we arrived, there was a gentleman taking pics of his bicycle by the water. He was from Germany and has been riding his bike all over the place. Tuktoyaktuk is his next destination. We saw many people riding their bicycles on the Dempster and man, we give them so much credit. Not only does the elevation change like crazy but the road can be soft and the dust from cars and trucks blasting by is brutal. We filled up his water bottle, wished him luck and he was on his way.

We are excited for the next month since it’ll be roads we have never traveled. It’s fun to revisit places but we really love to see new roads!

Off to explore Yukon some more…

 

 

The Denali Highway opened in 1957 and was the first road access to Denali National Park until the Parks Highway was completed in 1971. The road is mostly gravel and can be a little rough at times.

In 2018, we drove the Denali highway from Cantwell to Paxson and back in one day and we felt really rushed. So this time we wanted to slow down, find cool places to camp and explore. The weather was still pretty awesome so we had pretty clear views of the mountains and glaciers of the Alaska Range.

We found a great spot on top of a hill where we had an amazing view and were still pretty secluded from anyone traveling on the road. There are so many places to camp along this road, it was hard picking one.

We drove up Valdez Creek Mine Road to Roosevelt Lake. This is a pretty good road with a few water crossings. We were hoping for a nice campsite at the end on the lake but found an active mine operation. We drove through, looked around and then headed back.

This cool bus was among the scrap in and around the mining area. We went about halfway back to an awesome spot right on Valdez Creek. We didn’t even turn the sound machine on that night because it was so loud!

The next day we drove up Windy Creek Trail that brought us up to Wedding Pass where there was another mining operation that turned us around. It was a really decent trail with awesome views. We only passed two trucks presumably coming from the mine, otherwise we had the place to ourselves. The trail was easy, a little tight at times and had a couple water crossings as well.

Those are the only two roads that Craig had found to explore so we continued on. We were happy to find gas at Maclaren River Lodge. We weren’t even sure we would be able to get gas on the Denali Highway. The iOverlander reviews were pretty vague and nothing was showing up on Google. We were a little nervous about possibly having to make it all the way to Delta Juntion for gas. So we were even more happy that we didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it, $4.50 a gallon on a remote road wasn’t bad.

We continued on to Tangle Lakes Lodge to stretch our legs and grab some food. We found a spot to camp on the outskirts of a trailhead parking lot and were instantly swarmed by mosquitoes. We were happy to get out of there the next day.

And just like that we were done with the Denali Highway. We had seen and done everything we had set out to do so we continued north on the Richardson Highway. We stopped off for a few pictures next to the Alaska Pipeline. It’s always neat to see it and it’s pretty awesome to think that it is 800 miles long and brings oil from Prudhoe Bay all the way down to Valdez.

Craig had read about the Castner Ice Cave but we weren’t sure what condition it would be in late July. I read up on the trail and it sounded like it was worth checking out and we were due for a hike, it’s been awhile. It was only 3 miles but the trail toward the end was a little hard to follow and we got to scramble over rocks. We really wanted to cross the river to get into the cave but that was not the safest idea so we just took our pics and were pretty amazed how much ice was still there.

We made our way to Delta Junction for gas and a quick beer at the Delta Junction Brewing Company. We then found a great little spot to camp on the Gerstle River just a little bit away from a rest area. Thankfully the bugs were not bad and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the view.

As we were leaving our spot in the morning, we stopped at the bathrooms and we met a couple traveling full-time in a van but were buying a Four Wheel Camper and F350 next week. We ended up talking to them for almost 2 hours. It was cool to chat with like minded people and hear about all the places they have been and want to go.

We made our way into Tok a little later than planned but it worked out fine. We showered and did laundry at a gas station and by that time were were both starving. Fast Eddy’s was right across the street! So we got ourselves another aweomse pizza and then got back on the road to Chicken.

We knew we could camp for free at the Chicken Saloon so we made the push and got there around 8pm. We had a couple beers and ended up outside chatting with people and petting dogs. It turned out to be another fun night at the Chicken Saloon even though it started to rain.

We finally called it a night and found a spot to park the rig and crash for the night. It was the latest we’ve stayed up in a while! We were up fairly early because sleeping in a parking lot is never the quietest.

We continued on the Taylor Highway headed to Canada. The Taylor Highway was rough and it was pretty slow going at times. The border agent asked minimal questions and we crossed faster than we ever have before at the northernmost border crossing. Hello Yukon!

We got to the Yukon River outside of Dawson City and had to wait in line for the ferry to bring us across. It was way busier than it had been in 2018. There was a long line for RVs and a long line for regular size vehicles. We got on the 3rd time the ferry came back. They were only putting one large RV on at a time along with us regular sized vehicles. There were so many RVs in line and it will take them hours to finally get across.

In Dawson City we grabbed lunch and filled all our containers with water and headed for the Dempster Highway. We’ve been so excited to get back up to the Arctic Ocean! We didn’t drive too far and settled in for the night. We have been watching the weather because the Dempster can be terrible in the rain. There is a low chance of rain early next week but mid to end of the week looks awesome. We are excited to see the changes in the town since 2018. It will be another amazing experience and we can’t wait!

Off to Tuktoyaktuk…

Before we left Wasilla last week Monday, we grabbed some groceries and then headed to Susitna Brewing in Big Lake. It was raining so we weren’t in a hurry to get anywhere. The beers were great and the food was excellent. We treated ourselves to a growler of our favorite IPA from there and continued north.

I had found a free campground on iOverlander called Sunshine Creek. We were happy to find that it wasn’t busy and had clean pit toilets and a garbage can available. We set up and waited out the rain. We packed up the next day and headed into Talkeetna.

Talkeetna is a cool little town with two blocks of historic buildings, shops, art galleries and restaurants. At the end of Main Street is Talkeetna Riverfront park where the confluence of the Susitna River, the Chulitna and the Talkeetna River can be seen. This is also a great spot to see Denali on clear days.

We stopped in at West Rib Pub & Grill and had a beer that was brewed just for the Mayor, which is a cat.

Talkeetna is unincorporated and does not have a mayor but the residents named Stubbs the cat their honorary major. He held office from 1997 until his death in 2017. The town carried on the tradition by naming two younger cats as the new honorary mayors. Only one is still living and Aurora the cat continues to serve, unfortunately we did not get to meet her. We did get to hold some cute bunnies! I didn’t know I needed bunny therapy but we both enjoyed it!

After our walk downtown, we headed to Denali Brewing. There is a pub downtown but it was really busy so we went to the actual brewery just up the road. We grabbed an appetizer and enjoyed a couple beers before heading back to the free campground. We had very little traffic here and it was so nice and quiet.

We made our way north and had to stop in at Wal Mike’s in Trapper Creek. This place is so fun and has so much stuff! It was fun to look around at the Alaskan themed decorations and trinkets. We also were able to chat with Mike who has owned and operated the iconic general store for over four decades.

Then we headed up to Petersville Road. This is a road that has been on Craig’s radar since the last time we were up here. It was a little rainy and overcast as we drove west. We took Winter Trail to a river crossing that we weren’t so sure about.

It was late in the day so we just set up camp. Turns out there was nothing to worry about as we watched three stock vehicles drive through. I am glad we didn’t cross Thursday and just enjoyed our nice spot. Friday morning we woke up to clear blue skies and an awesome view of Denali.

We continued on Winter trail, driving in and out of the river and finally made it to the south border of Denali National Park. The 360 degree views were amazing!

We headed back the way we came and drove down random side trails, getting turned around by sketchy looking water crossings and snow. It was still fun to explore the area and see all the active mining going on. The road appeared to do a full loop back to the Forks Roadhouse so we continued on even when it turned into Black Creek Trail and got a little sketchy.

We continued up into the woods as the trail got tighter. We got to a muddy little section with a log that we just couldn’t bump over. We had to reconnect the winch a couple different times but we got ourselves out. The trail was still too tight to turn around so we had no option but to keep going. And thank goodness we did because we popped out of the woods and found an awesome campsite with Denali in view. We set up camp, happy to hang out for a couple days.

The only people we saw was a group of 4 on side-by-sides on Saturday, otherwise it was so quiet. We enjoyed the sunny day!

We tried to do a little research about what the rest of the trail looked like. There was not a lot of information and from what we could tell, full size vehicles don’t normally traverse it. I flew the drone and could see a large mud hole not too far from our camp but we weren’t sure how bad it was. When we left Sunday, we learned quickly that the mud hole was an icky muddy mess and we were not going to try it alone. We turned around and went back the way we came.

The weather was still so nice we decided to drive north on the Parks Highway to Healy. The drive was beautiful and we just kept commenting on how lucky we were to have so many days in a row to see Denali. We ended up at 49th State Brewing where it was packed! Everyone was out enjoying the great day!

We went to a boondock spot we had stayed at in 2018 in a dry river bed and settled in for the night. There is nothing special about it and worked for us since it was close to the brewery. We got up this morning, grabbed some supplies, did laundry and are ready to start heading east.

Off to the Denali Highway…

We arrived at our pet sit in Eagle River and stayed just long enough to drop off groceries, start laundry and pet the sleeping kitties, Otis and Amber. We headed into Anchorage to pick up our Amazon package and to celebrate by going to a few breweries!

Wednesday, July 3, was our 300th day on the road!! This is the longest that we have been away from Michigan (we were gone for 239 days in 2018). We stopped at Matanuska Brewing and Onsite Brewing to celebrate. Onsite had a brew dog and Craig made an instant friend.

Then we met up with our friend Paulo again. He had a friend fly in to visit and we met them at the Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria which is a well known place in Anchorage. It was great to catch up with him and compare notes about where we’ve been and what our next routes were going to be. His friend, Jacoba, is from the Netherlands and she is a travel blogger and has been all over the world. It was really fun to hear her stories. If you didn’t know this, my maiden name is Van De Weg, which means “of the road” in Dutch, kind of fitting I think. After pizza, we went to King Street Brewing for another pint before parting ways. We were planning on meeting up with them at the Glacier View Car Launch for the 4th of July.

We got back to the house, settled in and Otis wanted to be friends instantly. We were happy to have comfy couches, a big TV and kitties that liked us. Unfortunately, he and Amber did not really like each other much. She sat at the top of the stairs and was very vocal about us being downstairs. We’d go upstairs and play with her and when I sat on the floor she would crawl in my lap and was so content. But then I’d go downstairs and she just did not want to be down there. It took a couple days but she finally stayed downstairs on my lap mere feet from Otis and did just fine.

We got up early the next morning and headed out to Glacier View planning on attending a crazy 4th of July celebration where they launch about a dozen cars, unmanned of course, off a cliff on a remote hillside and watch them crash and tumble down. They do this instead of fireworks. GPS said we were an 1 1/2 from our destination and that did not change after 45 minutes of driving. I wasn’t sure if it was due to construction or what but soon we seemed to catch up with the line of cars all headed east on the Glenn Highway. We were 4 miles out and traffic came to a standstill. We were in a section with 2 lanes, one for passing, so we had stayed in the right lane and realized our mistake. The traffic was building but all in the left lane and there was a bus intent on blocking anyone trying to continue in the right lane. We sat there for about a half hour and realized how crazy busy and crowded this event was going to be. We are all about going to fun events but this was ridiculous and we still had no idea what the set up was, where to park or how close we would get once everyone got in. So we called it and did a quick U-turn and headed back to the nice house we had to stay in. Turns out it was the 20th Anniversary of this event and it brought in the largest crowd it’s ever seen!

We passed Paulo and Jacoba in his bus on their way east and waved! Later we learned they parked about 2 1/2 miles from the entrance, on the side of the road and walked the rest of the way. They somehow got close enough to get some decent photos and it sounded like they had a great time. We don’t regret turning around. That’s just too much for us. My mom went probably 10 years ago when she did a mission trip to Alaska and said it was not that big and it was a free event with a community potluck. Times have definitely changed. We went back to the house and happily relaxed with the kitties and I got to watch some basketball and we binge watched some of our shows.

Friday looked to be our only nice day so Craig did an oil change, tire rotation and cleaned the interior of the truck. I cleaned the camper and did lots of laundry. It’s always so nice to be able to clean up everything, repack and reorganize after weeks on the road.

We were really enjoying hanging out with the kitties and just relaxed on Saturday. We had already gone to Odd Man Rush Brewery in Eagle River the week before. We were going to go back but cats and couches always win! I like to make dinners that I can’t do in the camper so I made my mom’s meatloaf with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. Yum!! It was a great 5 days and we are really happy they chose us.

We are really bummed that we have been missing out on seeing our Alaska friends along the way. We first missed friends on Nebesna Road and then another family friend that lives in Anchorage left for Michigan on Wednesday before we got into town. And we had actually picked the sit in Eagle River to see our friends Barb & Steve. We had met them on the Dempster Highway in 2018 and they live in the next town over. We had no idea when we would get to their area and it turns out they were out of town. It’s hard to plan when the state is so large. We try to travel in a mostly efficient way without backtracking too much. We also didn’t want miss the things we did on our previous trip so it made it hard to give anyone a heads up on exactly when we’d be in town. So seeing all of our friends didn’t come together like we hoped it would.

We ended up having to stay in the area a little longer than we wanted. I had originally placed 2 separate Amazon orders (because I forgot to add one thing) and when they went to ship the largest one, there was an an issue that I thought I resolved quick enough but nope, they pushed it out another 2 weeks. We decided we could hang around the area but changed the order to be delivered to a UPS store in Wasilla on July 16.

So we left the pet sit and headed back into Anchorage to go to a few more breweries. We enjoyed Ravens Ring Brewing where we exchanged our first stickers with the owner and we met a couple from New Jersey that have been to 1,160 breweries!! It was fun to chat with people as enthusiastic about good beer as we are. We all headed to Glacier Brewhouse where they did a quick flight and then wanted to go fit in another brewery. We stayed for dinner and called it a night.

We headed to the Knik River where you can boondock where ever you want. It’s a vast wide open space with lots of quad trails through the woods and lots of rocky beach to ride up and down. We stayed for 3 nights and got sick of the road construction across the river, the quads busting next to our camper and the constant barrage of planes flying low over the river.

We spent a day in Palmer and went to Matanuska Brewing and Bleeding Heart Brewing. Both are great breweries and we enjoyed the beers at both places. We also did a short hike up Bodenburg Butte to get a better view of the Knik Glacier.

Then we headed back up to Hatcher Pass and paid $10 to park in a parking lot because we wanted to do a hike in the morning.

We headed to Independence Mine the next day and hiked up to Gold Cord Lake. We had done this trail with Gus in 2018 and we had loved it. This time it was really busy and it seems like a lot of the area is really trampled down around the actual trail. We are definitely noticing that it is just busier everywhere we go and it doesn’t feel quite as peaceful as it did 6 years ago. It was still so beautiful and we were glad to have a decent day. We wandered around the mine but didn’t stay long.

We decided to head back over Hatcher Pass and try and get a spot on Willow Creek that we had passed the previous week but was occupied. We were happy to see it was empty and got set up. It was larger than we remembered but it was still a one party camp. If we had friends with us it would’ve been great, but it wasn’t large enough to feel comfortable for random people to camp next to you, but apparently people don’t care about that.

We had 3 vehicles drive in on Friday. One circled our camper twice and a van literally parked next to us and said we wouldn’t see them much. Both times we just said we wanted privacy and if they stayed we would leave, thankfully they both left. It’s not like there isn’t any other places to stay on this road, we just happend to have one of the nicest spots on the river. We thought we were done fending off people when a truck with a travel trailer and a SUV with rooftop tent drove by very close to our camper at 10pm at night and drove out in front of our camper onto the rocky shore. Thanks, that’s exactly the view we wanted to see when we came to Alaska. They never talked to us or asked us if it was okay. They just parked and fired up their generator. Ugh!!

So the next morning we left, in the rain. We aren’t grouchy old people. We would just like a little respect and some privacy. We found another spot that was closer to the road but had a steep incline to get into and we could park on the rocks right next to the river. We thought that it was perfect!! It was, until about 2 hours later a tour of side by sides came whipping through, next to our camper to cross the river. All we could do was shake our heads. The tours came through twice a day and we got a couple random trucks that came down, realized there wasn’t much down there and left. It rained pretty good all weekend so we weren’t outside but it still made us just laugh at how we kinda attract people. It seems like people drive around and think, oh there’s a camper, lets go drive by them, maybe they parked there because it’s cool.

We were extremely happy when our Amazon package was delivered yesterday, a whole day early! We packed up and headed into town. Craig spray washed the truck which needed it after following the water truck and grader on Hatcher Pass.

We stopped at Bearpaw River Brewing for a couple beers and a pizza. We had booked a campsite at Matanuska River Park for last night assuming our package was coming in today. For $20 it was worth it for an unlimited hot shower!

We really do love this area but we are ready to move on.

Off to Talkeetna…